Chocolate frosting nopeling book snazure azure boots

The above is a pseudonym Azure made up for herself sometime back in the summer with the last addition of boots (from Dora of course) just a couple months ago.

It's high time Azure gets a post just to herself. Especially b/c she just turned 3.5 on Dec. 21. Half birthdays are pretty big milestones for preschoolers. And as a family we have wanted to celebrate them to be fun. Charles has done a great job at this in the past buying me gifts for my half birthday. Unfortunately, his half birthday is on the 4th of July. I am usually pretty hyped up about the flag cake and other delicious summertime cookout food that I forget his half birthday. I know, lame excuse right? Well, this year we will celebrate his half birthday!

On Dec. 21 Charles and I actually left both Azure and Vince in the care of my parents to celebrate the 5 yr of our engagement at Casa Laguna in Laguna Beach where we spent the first 2 nights of our honeymoon (a post to come on that). So, we still didn't celebrate her half birthday, but it's a milestone that deserves a post.

She continues to be very articulate. Her vocabulary is outstanding. Here's an example from just today while coloring in her Arizona book from the visitor center there. "There are lots of spiders in Arizona. We have to kill them by slaughtering them with guns." What?!? She learned the word slaughter from the Doctrine and Covenants/Church History DVD. Since learning it she has used it many times referring to the death of animals while we are eating meat at dinner. Of course, she has no idea how violent this sounds.

She uses the phrase "even to" in place of "be able to". "If Daddy gets eaten by alligators, then I won't even to see him again." I guess it sounds like she has a death obsession but, she really doesn't. We talk a lot about how Jesus died for us and then resurrected so I think the idea of death to her is pretty minor. We're all gonna resurrect anyway so what's the big deal?

I just asked her favorite things and this is what she said...

Favorite color: blue
Favorite song: Row, row, row your boat
Favorite thing to do w/ Vince: clapping and playing with him
Favorite food: bananas

Asking kids this age what their favorites are is kinda funny b/c I think they just say whatever pops into their head first. I can't remember the last time we sang row, row, row your boat but, she just heard about it earlier today so that's why she said it was her favorite.

On Monday Dec. 6 (2 days after these pics were taken) we dropped Charles off at the Midyear Pharmacy Meeting in Anaheim and then the 3 of us headed to Huntington Beach, a frequent spot of mine as a CA resident. It was such a lovely day. Azure and I had the best time together! I realized that she really is one of my greatest friends. I love having a little sidekick. She is good company. I love my little Azure Marie. She is growing up to be a little lady.

I frequently say to her, "Did you know that you're my favorite girl?!" Then she just smiles and laughs. She loves to please us. When she is well rested she is the sweetest angel. When she wakes up in the morning the first thing she says is "Good morning Mommy!" and she gives me a hug.

She also no longer needs to use a lid on her cups since she rarely spills anymore.

Her first day in Primary as a Sunbeam was Sunday. She did a wonderful job being reverent. Since I'm the Primary Chorister I practice the songs with her at home. All last week we practiced the song, "If I listen with my heart". I used a slide show of the song I found on sugardoodle.net to teach the children the song. Azure had already watched it ~100 times. So, as I put it on during Singing Time, I caught Azure's eye and she was grinning ear to ear at me, with squinted eyes and her head tilted forward. She was SO excited that she knew the song and had already seen the DVD. I loved sharing that moment with her. And I loved that as we were singing it I heard her sweet voice singing.

Even if I hadn't been in there I know she would have done fine without me. She has always been independent and social. There have been numerous times that she has cried when I have come to pick her up from nursery or a friend's house but, rarely when I drop her off.

She is a divine daughter of God and I feel privileged to be her mother.